Bank vault



Patented Aug..` 1l, 1925..

UNIT-ED ROSS IR. WEST, 0F SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNA.

BANK VULT.

Application led January 26, m25. Serial No. 4,843.

To all Awhom/zi may concern:

Be it knownv that lf, Ross R. WEST, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and `county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Bank Vault, of which the following is a specification.

'll e invention relates to bank vaults and adapted to be embedded in one wall of the `vault, for use as a ventilator, so that, in the event that one of the employees of the bank should be locked in the vault, either accidentally or intentionally, the opening in the Wall provided bythe device, will permit of sufficient ventilation within the vault to prevent suocation.

Vaults are constructed to certain rigid specifications, thereby providing a construction which renders the vault substantially immune from successful attack by drills and by the llame of a metal cutting torch. It is an object of my invention to provide a ventilating device which, while providing the necessary ventilation, will not render 'the vault more susceptible of successful attack by drilling or by the torch. Vaults are also constructed to preserve the conte-nts against an external rise in temperature, which might be caused, for instance, by the total destruction of the building in which the vault is placed, by fire. Another object of my invention is to provide a Ventilating device which isheat resistant to' at least the same degree as the walls of the vault, so that heat will not be conducted into the vault through the Ventilating device, in the event of the existence of a high temperature eX- terior tothe vault.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Ventilating device which, when closed is substantially immune from attack and which may be readily opened from within the vault. V

The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which with the foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following description, where 1 shall outline in full that form of the invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present s eciication. 1n said drawings l have s own one form of device embodyin my invention, but it is to be understood t at ll do not limit myself to such form, since the inventiomas set forth in theclaims, may be embodied in a plurality' of forms.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a section through a device constructed in accordance with my invention and embedded in the masonry wall of a vault.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the device taken on the line 22, Figure l.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the cap ernployed forv securing the closing plug in p ace.

Figure 4 is an' elevation of a wrench used for removing the cap and fo-r removing the plug, a portion of the stem of' the wrench being broken away to reduce the size of the figure. l

Vault walls are now usually made of masonry, suchas concrete, and I have shown the device of my invention embedded in a concrete vault wall. The device of my invention comprises a metallic sleeve adapted to be embedded in the wall of the vault and provided with means for minimizing the transfer of heat through the metal of the sleeve. For this purpose the sleeve comprises two sleeve parts 4 and 5. The outer sleeve part 4 is preferably provided with an annular exterior flange 6, the outer surface of which is preferably flush with the outer surface of the vault wall. The outer end of the sleeve part 4 is also preferably provided with an inner annular flange 7 having'a bevelled inner edge, for reasons that will appear hereinafter. The two sleeve parts are provided at their adjacent ends with outwardly extending annular flanges 12 and 13, between which there is disposed a ring 14 of suitable heat insulating material `which minimizes the flow of heat longitudinally through the sleeve.' The two sleeve parts are secured together by bolts 15, extending through apertures in the flanges 12 and 13. The outer sleeve part 4 is provided on its inner surface, adjacent its inner end, with a screw threaded portion 16,

for reasons which will hereinafter become cient length, so that its inner endprojects beyond the inner surface of the vault wall 18. By making the sleeve in two parts, the

inner part 5 may be made of a softer steel, so A that the inner end thereof may be readily cut ofi' to provide a complete sleeve of any desired length, depending upon the width of the vault wall. The inner sleeve parts 5 are usually made to a standard length, sufficient to fit a vault wall of the maximum thickness and, these sleeves are cut oil for vault walls of lesser thickness, thereby making it necessary tomanufacture only one length of sleeve; The sleeve is held in 'place on its inner end by a nut 19 engaging the screw threaded portion 17 and bearing against a washer 21y which in turn bears against the vault wall. The sleeve extends lbeyond the nut 19 'for reasons which will sequently become apparent.

Seated in the sleeve is a removal plug, which nmay be removed only from within the vault. This plug is formed in two parts, comprising a headportioii 22 and a body portion 23.- The plug portions are hollow and arev provided at their adjacentends with in-turned flanges 24.-25, between which there is arranged a ring 26 of heat insulating material which minimizes the transfer of heat through the plug. The heat insulating ring 26 lies in the same plane as the heat insulating ring 14, so that there cannot be a transmission of heat through the device by the-heat passing alternately from the sleeve to the plug and vice versa. The 1nner edges of the flanges 24 and 25 are luted as shown in Figure 2, providing seats for a wrench which may be inserted in the seats for the purpose of rotating the plug. The head portion 22 of the plug is provided on its outer surface,` adjacent its inner end, with a screw threaded portion which meshes with the screw threaded portion 16 on the sleeve, so that the plug is lirmly and rigidly held in place and can be removed only by being rotated. The head of the plug is closed at its outer end by a thick wall 27, which is preferably made of drill resistant steel. At its outer end the head is provided with a projection 28 which fits snugly into the opening in t-he fiange 7, forming a tight contact with the inclined edge 8, so that no crack is left through which material may be introduced into the vault. The hollow interior of the forward portion 22 of the plu is preferably filled with a material 29 whic is torch res1sting or drill resisting or both, or with a metal, Such as copper.

The inner end of the plug preferably extends beyondthe inner end of the sleeve and, after the plug has been screwed tightly in place, itis further locked in position by the cap 31, which screws onto the projectin end of the sleeve. The cap overlies the end of the plug and is preferabl provided with a central projection 32 w ich enters the. plug. The cap is provided on its youter survault is desired, the plug is removed, thereby providing a free passage through the sleeve from the interior to the exterior of the vault. The passage is of sufficient size to provide suliicient air in the vault so that the person or persons trapped therein will not sulfer from sulfocation.

I claim:

1. The combination with a vault wall, ofv

a two-piece hollow metallic sleeve embedded in said wall and extending therethrough, heat insulation material interposed between said two pieces to minimize the llow of heat through the metal of the sleeve and a removable plug secured in said sleeve and closing the opening therethrough.

2. The combination with a vault wall, of a hollow metallic sleeve embedded in the wall and extending therethrough, a twopiece removable metallic plug Secured in said sleeve and closing the opening therethrough and heat insulating material interposed between said two pieces to minimize tle Vflow of heat through the metal of the p ug.

3. The combination with a vault Wall, of a metallic sleeve embedded inand extending through the wall, an annular shoulder on the inner side of the sleeve at its outer end, a plug screwed into said sleeve and formin a tight engagement with said shoulder an means accessible only from the interior of the vault for rotating said plug to remove it from the sleeve.

4.l The combination with a vault wall,4

of a metallic sleeve embedded in and extending through the wall, said sleeve being provided on 1ts inner end with a screw threaded portion and being provided on its inner surface with a screw threaded portion, a plug engaging the latter screw threaded portion and closing the aperture through the sleeve and a cap engaging the former screw threaded portion and overlying the inner end of the plug.

5. The combination with a vault `wall of a twoart metallic sleeve embedded in and extendln through said wall, outwardly extending anges on the adjacent ends of said two-parts, a ring of heat insulating material interposed between said flanges, a twopart plug, seated in and extending for the length of the sleeve and a ring of heat insulating material interposed between the two,wr parts of the plug, said two rings being disposed in the same plane.

6. The combination with a vault wall, of a metallic sleeve embedded in and extending through said wall, a plug having a hollow body and a drill resistant head screwed into said sleeve, said plug being provided with a socket adapted to receive a wrench whereby the plugmay be rotated to unscrew it from said sleeve. y

7. The combination with a vault wall, of a metallic sleeve embedded in and extending through said wall, a heat insulating'- ring on the inner s ide of the `sleeve at the outer end thereof, a plug extending through said sleeve, a projection on the 'outer end of the plug adapted to seat against said beveled edge, and a cap enga ing the inner end of the sleeve and overlying. the inner end of the plug.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

ROSS R. WEST. 

